Thomas Toffel was crowned the 2026 NASCAR Euro Series OPEN champion at Circuit Zolder, Belgium – Sandro Tavartkiladze, Claudio Cappelli and Beitske Visser topped their respective trophy categories
- Thomas Toffel is the 2026 NASCAR Euro Series OPEN champion
- The Swiss managed the risk to score the necessary points at Circuit Zolder
- Sandro Tavartkiladze, Claudio Cappelli and Beitske Visser also received their trophies
Thomas Toffel is officially the 2026 NASCAR Euro Series OPEN champion. The Swiss driver crossed the finish line fifth under the checkered flag in Final 2 at Circuit Zolder in Belgium, a clutch drive that proved more than enough to hold off title rivals race victor Raphael Lessard and Thomas Dombrowski. A visible wave of relief washed over the THT by Race Art Technology standout as he rolled his car into Victory Lane to celebrate the crowning achievement alongside his crew, family, friends, and roaring fans. Anchored by three trips to the winner’s circle and one of the most remarkably consistent campaigns in OPEN division history, Toffel’s breakout season officially punches his ticket to the 2026 NASCAR Awards banquet in the United States, topped off with the coveted championship timepiece from Stromwatches.com.
“I feel really good, but for sure I need an hour now to let the pressure down, because it was not the battle of my life, for sure,” said the 2026 NASCAR Euro Series OPEN champion. “Sometimes it’s more difficult to stay out of trouble than to be at the front and just focus on what’s ahead. I just didn’t want to get caught up in the battles, and it was a false rhythm, so it was really difficult to manage. During the whole race, you’re constantly thinking: ‘I hope my gearbox holds up and my engine runs smooth.’ It was really difficult, but I’m really happy. The championship party will be planned and organized by his Belgian engineer Koen Bevers, who Toffel called the ‘boss of the party’.”
While Toffel played it safe, there were plenty of battles raging throughout the field. Lessard masterfully gained the lead at the start and drove with his heart out. With nothing to lose after technical issues on Saturday, the driver of the #11 Alumitec Racing Ford Mustang went into the distance and finished with a stunning 27 seconds advantage to the already crowned Legend Trophy champion Claudio Cappelli, who had to work overtime to fend off his rivals.
“I don’t know what the gap was, but they kept telling me about it,” said Lessard in Victory Lane. “At the end I was cruising, but this car is a rocket. It’s a very special moment here, I was thinking of Gilles Villeneuve and this win was for him and for my grandpa back home. What a year! Fifty percent of the races we won, it’s amazing. We wanted the championship and we proved today that we’re in the position to be able to win it. Congratulations to Toffel and his team, they executed it perfectly this year. They finished all the races and we didn’t finish well yesterday. It cost us, but I wanted to show my skills and I think I did just that. At the beginning of the year I was not much of a road course guy, but I think I can call myself a pretty good road course racer now!”
The battle became heated in the last lap: Cappelli, Dombrowski, Martin Doubek and Vladimiros Tziortzis came into blows at the Villeneuve chicane. The Italian was fortunate to maintain his second place, but others weren’t so lucky.
Doubek managed to keep his #7 Hendriks Motorsport Ford on the track and took a third place finish. Just behind the incident was Sandro Tavartkiladze, who benefitted in the last moments to win the Master Trophy with his fourth place finish. With the Georgian claiming his seventh Master Trophy victory in the last eight races, he also got to be crowned as the 2026 Master Trophy champion.
Beitske Visser aced the Finals and crossed the line in sixth to secure her two Playoffs goals: Win the Lady Trophy crown and finish in the overall top-10 positions. Florian Richard and Jens Beeusaert joined Tavartkiladze on the Master Trophy podium with their seventh and ninth place finishes. Dombrowski was deemed responsible for the incident and was handed a post-race penalty that dropped him to eighth while Tziortzis had to settle for tenth. Michael Bleekemolen and Andre Lortie completed the Legend Trophy podium in 14th and 21st, while Happinessa and Mariam Davitidze rounded the Lady Trophy top-3 in 15th and 18th.
Three wins, five additional podiums and a lead that he never relinquished from the opener in Spain: This is the full story of Thomas Toffel’s 2026 OPEN campaign. With 528 points, the Swiss driver lifts the crown that he has been working on since his first year in the sport in 2022. The THT by Race Art Technology driver finished 32 points ahead of Thomas Dombrowski, who in turn was two points ahead of Raphael Lessard. Another two points separates the Canadian from Claudio Cappelli, whose run of form in the Finals pushed the Italian to his best championship finish.
Vladimiros Tziortzis rounded out the overall top-5 ahead of the Hendriks Motorsport duo of Gil Linster and Martin Doubek. Sandro Tavartkiladze finished eighth overall after he completed his dominant Master Trophy comeback. The Team Bleekemolen driver was 19 points ahead of Florian Richard, his closest opponent in the Master Trophy, who in turn was ahead of the newly crowned Lady Trophy winner Beitske Visser.
Third position in the overall Master Trophy came down to the wire: Dominique Schaak in 11th overall beat Jens Beeusaert by only two points. Happiness and Mariam Davitidze rounded the Lady Trophy top-3 in 16th and 19th overall. Despite not taking part in the NASCAR Euro Series Finals, Melvin de Groot scored enough points to be classified second overall in the Legend Trophy. The tall Dutchman was 17th in the standings, three positions ahead of Federico Monti who completed the special classification top-3.
And that concludes the latest chapter in the most exciting and unpredictable division of the NASCAR Euro Series! The newly crowned champion Toffel and the Trophy winners Cappelli, Tavartkiladze and Visser will get to celebrate their success in the 2026 season before they will be honored in front of the NASCAR royalty at the upcoming NASCAR Awards banquet in Charlotte, North Carolina. Where will their path go from here? Find out as we start our silly season and build up to the unmissable 2027 season!
Featured image by NASCAR Euro Series / Bart Dehaese
